


A Disturbing Reflection

by Ealov



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Underfell, Alternate Universe - Underswap, Child Abuse, Gen, Handplates, baby bones
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-09
Updated: 2016-05-23
Packaged: 2018-06-07 09:59:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6799303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ealov/pseuds/Ealov
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Handplates survivors, Underswap Papyrus and Sans take care of younger alternate versions of themselves that are struggling with reality.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For clarification, the Underfell brother's names are the fonts Neue (for Sans) and Cancione (for Papyrus) based on another fic I read a long time ago. They are kind of similar to Comic Sans and Papyrus respectively and I like the names. If it's not a good idea or it's too weird and I get some comments to change it then I will. I don't think it's a big deal in this chapter though.

Papyrus set the time and date to approximately the time that he himself and his brother had escaped all those years ago.

Once the machine whirred to life, he stepped through. He was disorientated for a while but eventually regained his senses. He focused hard on where he wanted to teleport. Teleporting in a different reality wasn't easy. Teleporting in general wasn't easy, but once you knew the place you wanted to go to like the back of your hand, you were there. 

He didn't know this place though. He knew where it was. He knew what it looked like. He even remembered what it felt like trapped in those rooms. 

But this was different.

He could still teleport based on coordinates and gut instinct, but it required focus. So focus he did.

 

The world snapped around him and it was dark. He was in a small, dark room. He waited a moment for his vision to adjust and steeled his emotions for what he might see.

He spotted two white beds in each corner of the small bland room, close to the white tiled floor. The walls were made of glass, and it looked like there was a slightly bigger room that had plain white walls surrounding this small prison.

There were two small sleeping forms on each of the beds that nearly blended in with their surroundings. Neither of them moved an inch with his entrance.

He couldn't tell which one was which, but started with the left one. He carefully picked up the small child with both hands, easily lifting their light weight and laid them up to rest against his shoulder, supporting their exposed bones with one hand. They were cold to the touch and completely limp. He turned to pick up the other with one hand and held them fast to his chest. This one stirred a bit but still remained asleep. He backed away to the middle of the tiny room.

He focused on where he wanted to be and held fast to the children before disappearing. 

~

He woke up in a... different room. He was laying on something... soft. This wasn't his room. This wasn't his bed. 

Feeling around him, he felt the bed below him with his small phalanges before the side of his hand bumped into something. He recognized it. It was N. He sat up to get a better look at him and realized they were both covered by some kind of colored sheet. He threw the fabric off of both of them and placed his hand on the other's exposed shoulder. He gave a testing shake, hoping N would wake. Normally if he shook N when he was sleeping he would wake up instantly, worried and concerned. But not this time. N did not stir, and it took him a glance to N's skull to remember why. His face bunched up in unease. 

He turned away from N and took in the light of the room, checking his surroundings more. It was light in the room. It wasn't light like in the Lab, where it was so bright it hurt if you looked at the ceiling for too long, but it wasn't dark like when The Doctor turned the lights off and locked them in their room together. It was kind of... in between. It made him feel sleepy.

There were things in the room that looked weird, not like the stuff in the Lab, this stuff wasn't as scary. They didn't have flashing bright lights and cords everywhere. The walls were... blue, he remembered what that color was, and the floors were two colors. One was blue like the walls but the other was... red? No. It was... 'orange.' He heard N's voice in his head, remembering his lessons when N was teaching him what the colors were. The floor hurt his head to look at, so he turned back to N.

Scooping N up in his arms, he dragged them both off the bed and stood for a moment in the middle of the room. He saw a door and backed away from it. Looking to the other side of the room there was a desk, there was lots of room under it. It wasn't like The Doctor's desk. Instead of large desk legs there were thin poles, and instead of papers on top there was something that looked like tiny monsters, but they didn't move. They weren't real. They couldn't be. He dragged N under the desk and crouched down beside him, letting N's head bury into his rib cage as he held him tight. 

It was cold but not the same kind of cold he was familiar with. It wasn't like in his room at night. 

He waited and watched the door.

 

The door opened eventually and someone came in. The Doctor looked different. He wasn't wearing that white lab coat he always did, and his face had healed up, leaving no sign that there was ever any damage. His clothes were weird, it was that... orange color again. The Doctor was staring at them. 

The Doctor waited, just watching them with a weird expression on his face. After a moment The Doctor walked forward, stopping in the middle of the room and got down on his knees to look under the desk. He clutched N tighter and shrank away from his gaze. Was he in trouble? Did The Doctor come for N? Was he going to take N away? Was he going to help him? He held N fast anyway.

The Doctor looked to them and raised his hand, giving a small wave. It reminded him of when he first met N, a long time ago. They weren't allowed near each other but they would wave and gesture to the other with their hands. He felt some familiarity when The Doctor waved his hand to him but he didn't feel comfortable returning the gesture. The Doctor had never done that before. 

The Doctor's face went neutral and instead he raised one of his fingers before speaking and leaving the room. 

"Wait here a moment."

He left the door open a crack, and voices could be heard through the threshold.

 

It took a couple of minutes but The Doctor returned. 

He carried a clear glass cup and crouched down in the same spot as before. He set the cup down next to him and looked at the two under the desk.

"Are you thirsty?"

He shook his head. The Doctor just nodded slowly and looked towards N.

"Can I see your... your brother?" 

He didn't move. He knew if The Doctor wanted to see N, he didn't have a choice. The Doctor made a hand motion for him to come out from under the desk but he froze. The Doctor let out a small breath and picked up the cup before crawling closer to the desk. 

"I just want to help him, is that okay?"

Slowly he nodded and felt his grasp on his brother loosen. N slumped down a bit and The Doctor reached out slowly to extract him from under the desk. He left the glass next to the desk and took N back to the bed before putting the colored fabric back over him. 

The Doctor's face looked different. Not because he was missing those huge cracks running from his eye sockets across his skull, but because of his expression. He didn't look filled with glee, as he did sometimes when he figured something out or had a new idea. He didn't look angry like he always did when he and N didn't want to do what he said. He looked... sad. Sad like N had looked at him those times when he had to go with The Doctor alone.

He wrapped his arms around his legs and pulled tight against himself. The Doctor never looked like that before. He had never seen anyone but N look like that before.

 

After a moment of silence, someone else entered the room.

He was a skeleton, just like The Doctor, but shorter. 

Were there two Doctors? His mind was drowned in confusion. Two Doctors? That...wasn't possible. Their entire lives it had just been him, N, and The Doctor. There was nobody else. Now there were two Doctors.

This 'New Doctor' came into the room slowly, looking around as he did and his gaze flicked from the two on the bed to the one under the desk. He approached and sat down where The Doctor had crouched moments before and gave a soft smile.

"Hello there," he spoke softly, like The Doctor's voice was soft sometimes when he tried to get him and N to do something. N said that was his lying voice.

"Doctor?"

New Doctor and The Doctor shot him a surprised look, and for a moment he thought he was in trouble before New Doctor's face smiled, although nervously.

"We're not Doctors," New Doctor(?) raised his hands as if to show he wasn't a threat. "My name is Sans," he enunciated his name slowly and nodded his head as he did so, "and that over there is my brother, Papyrus."

"Your 'Doctor' is gone now. You won't be seeing him again," the tall skeleton on the bed said, he already forgot his name. "You two are safe now."

"Doctor... gone?" They both nodded. His gaze drifted towards N as he was lost in thought, confused. 

"You and your brother are going to be living here from now on. There's not going to be any more experiments or tests. We're going to help you, okay?"

"Help... N?"

They both looked towards the bed, and ...'New Doctor', (he forgot) who wasn't a Doctor crawled a little bit closer to the desk, reaching out to the glass that 'The Doctor' put there, picking it up and holding it close to himself.

"We're going to help your brother, don't worry."

The 'New Doctor' was looking directly at him with a look he couldn't place, but both of their attentions snapped back towards the bed when a strangled sound pierced the room. 'New Doctor' stood up fast and took a couple of steps closer to the bed before stopping and watching. He brought one of his hands up to his face to cover his mouth. 'The Doctor' was holding onto both of N's arms and trying to keep steady.

"N!" He cried out to his brother and crawled out from under the desk, considering rushing over to him but the looming skeletons made him reconsider. He stood frozen in front of the desk.

"Sans take him to the living room."

"Okay okay..." 'New Doctor' sounded stressed and he turned to face the small skeleton. "Come with me please." 

An arm reached out to grab him and normally he would have recoiled away but he was too concerned for N right now. He only realized what was happening as he was being pulled out of the room by a gloved hand gripping him. The skeleton whipped him around out the door and closed it behind him, but not before another horrible noise came through the door before it was shut completely.

The next thing he knew he was being helped down the stairs and walked across a strange, open room, larger than the one he'd been in moments ago. The soft floor beneath his feet turned to tile, the sound of his phalanges clicking across the ground reminded him of the Labs briefly, but he was hoisted up onto a chair before the memory had time to settle. He was face to face with 'New Doctor' for a moment, who gave him a sad smile. He looked like he was about to cry but was holding back. It reminded him of N. 

He was still shocked at seeing this new person. The Doctor told him and N that there was nothing else. N asked him if they could go outside or leave perhaps, when they were far younger, but The Doctor had looked displeased. He explained that there is no 'outside,' and that there was nowhere else to go. They were all that was. N said he was using his lying voice when he said that.

"Sorry about that. Your brother is going to be okay. My brother is going to take care of him." 'New Doctor' sat the clear glass down on the table in front of him and walked over to the counter. He took some deep breaths before turning and sitting down at the table next to him.

"Are you... hurting, anywhere?" He hesitated but nodded. He had some dull pains in his body from the tests a couple of days ago. 

"You must be hungry too, I'll get you something to make you feel better, okay? Hold on a minute. There's some water there if you're thirsty too." 'New Doctor' stood up and went towards this... box thing in the corner of the room. It made a humming sound when he opened it. He reached inside and pulled...something out and put it on the counter. He reached up to open one of the cabinets but kind of struggled due to his height. He pulled out a familiar looking orange, cylindrical container, and it rattled as he jostled it.

'New Doctor' placed a plate in front of him with some weird blobby mess on it, and placed a pill on the table beside it. 'New Doctor' obviously saw his disgust at the pill.

"You don't have to take the pill if you don't want to, but you should eat that food. It will make you feel better." He sat there staring at the pill, shaking his head slowly.

"It's just a painkiller, I promise. I know you've had these before, right? They make it stop hurting for a while. I can take one to prove that it's safe, okay?" He stared at 'New Doctor' disbelievingly. The Doctor never took any medicine when he and N were around. He always made them take it.

He was woken from that thought with another rattling sound, the orange cylinder opening and 'New Doctor' taking a small round white tablet from it. He held it between his blue gloved fingers and showed it to the smaller skeleton clearly. He nodded his head and then popped it in his mouth. 

"There, see? It's okay."

He nodded back to 'New Doctor' and downed the pill. He knew what painkillers were but The Doctor didn't give them to him and N often. Whenever he did, something really bad happened. Like with N...

 

'New Doctor' got up, opened one of the drawers and pulled out a long silver tool. It was sharp and glinted in the not-bright light. He sat it down on the plate next to the blobby thing and waited patiently.

Was this some kind of test? He didn't understand.

"New Doctor?"

'New Doctor's face was startled again. He relaxed and spoke gently. "I'm not a doctor, remember? My name is Sans," he enunciated his name the same way he did before. He was much too distracted to remember his name the first time he said it, but this time it started to stick.

"Sans," he spoke in much the same enunciated way that Sans had moments ago.

"Very good!"

"Saaaaaans," his face wore a more confident expression as he repeated the name. This reminded him of when N would teach him new words.

"Yes, I'm Sans. I'm not a doctor. I'm going to help you. Remember?"

He nodded and grabbed at the edge of the table. He looked down to that blobby mess and sniffed it. It smelled... nice. He was about to ask Sans what it was but was interrupted.

"What is your name?"

He looked up from the plate and looked into Sans' eyes. He paused for a moment but spoke.

"My name is WDG E-ONE ZERO THREE C."

~

Papyrus heard the door click shut behind him, but not before another horrifying sound escape the kid's mouth. This kid was in serious trouble. It reminded him so much of his own brother and was conjuring extremely unpleasant memories, but he had to stay strong. The small skeleton went limp on the bed and Papyrus released his arms. Reaching into his hoodie pocket, he pulled out a syringe filled with deep blue liquid and popped the cap off it. He rested the hand with the syringe in it on the child's forehead, pointing the syringe away and brought out his other hand to his rib cage. Reaching inside the small chest cavity, he easily found what he was looking for and clutched it carefully, the SOUL's host letting out a low groan at the feeling of invasion. Papyrus heard the noise but ignored it. 

Papyrus brought the small red heart into view and positioned the syringe above it, ready to strike. He took just a second to register the damage done to this SOUL. Papyrus' own soul was sickening to look at when he was younger but man, this was worse than he could ever imagine. Papyrus was snapped from those thoughts by another low groan, reminding him of the pain the smaller skeleton was in. He had to act.

Carefully, Papyrus inserted the tip of the syringe into the small magical core and injected the liquid slowly. The deep blue coloring mixing against the muddy fractured red color turned the soul into a sickish purple brown color. 

Papyrus thought he was going to be sick. He removed the syringe and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. The child gasped at the sensation of his SOUL being freed and calmed down a bit, going back into a calm sleep.

 

He knew it was bad but...how could it be THIS bad?

He'd gone back to stop their Underfell versions of themselves from becoming huge evil assholes. They were horrible people but deep down he knew he couldn't blame them, not when they went through similar experiences, but with the way their world worked of course they would turn out to be like that. It was 'Kill or Be Killed,' wasn't it? With the kind of power The Doc- Gaster gave them, they could have destroyed anyone they wanted.

Now he's just surprised they didn't turn out worse.

Papyrus looked down at the child, gauze was wrapped around his head covering both of his eye sockets and his breathing was labored, but not as bad as it had been before the injection. Just staring at the bandage wrapped around his skull was making Papyrus queasy.

Two fucking eye implants.

Two.

Papyrus could barely handle getting one of them, and this kid was getting a second one put in. 

It made him sick.

He didn't want to use these kinds of drugs and syringes and scary medical equipment because it would set a bad example for the kids, he didn't want these kids taking these awful drugs.

He didn't want to be like _him_. But there was no other choice right now.

 

When he and Sans had gotten their eye implants, they went blind for... a long time. He wasn't sure how long, but it felt like eternity before he was able to see his brother's face again. He remembered being so happy to open his eyes and see Sans, but the happiness didn't last long. The days after he recovered were grueling, Gaster tested the full limits of the magical eye and he pushed Papyrus to the edge. The only thoughts that kept him going were of his brother, and how his sacrifice would keep Sans safe. 

He can't believe he was so stupid.

Gaster had used Papyrus to test his idea and it worked. And then he put an improved version of the eye implant in Sans. 

Papyrus was furious when he found out, when Sans returned to the room, blind and drugged, Papyrus knew he couldn't keep letting this happen. He even ended up turning his magic on Gaster, but was too exhausted from all the experiments. He was easily defeated. 

He told himself he would get Sans out of there once his vision recovered. He'd protect him from any more harm.

They escaped.

 

Papyrus was half surprised to see these two kids in that dark room. He set the date approximately and with no good judgement of time back then, it was a wild shot. But they were still there, so he took that chance to get them out. He thought if he overshot it then they'd be gone, and he would have gone looking for them in Snowdin, since that's where he took Sans when they escaped. But they were still there. He grabbed both of them and teleported out, using a remote version of the machine to bring himself back. He took both kids to Sans' room and checked their bodies, but noticed something strange.

They were both the same height.

Papyrus wasn't the same height as Sans until quite a while after they were free. A long time after, actually. He checked the data with the machine and spent some time thinking about how many years they were free, doing the math.

He had missed the date of their escape by about three years.

These two didn't escape like Papyrus and Sans did. At least, not as early as they did.

They must have been through so much.

 

It was too late to take them back and undo this. He fucked up. Now that they were here there was no use complaining about it. Papyrus turned away from the smaller skeleton and clasped his hands on his face. 

Dark thoughts started to creep into his mind. It was selfish and disgusting. He wasn't thinking about these poor kids. He was thinking about himself.

Because if they didn't escape, this would have happened to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I'm very very sick right now and wrote this anyway. I'm delusional and don't know if this is a good idea or if i'll continue writing this but I had to get it out of my head. hopefully someone enjoys it.
> 
> While I was sick I binge read a ton of amazing handplates fanfiction. Those fics were really long and I figured something short and sweet might be nice too. This was born from an idea of 'What if they had somebody who had a good idea of what they went through to help them through it?'
> 
> If you see any errors feel free to let me know.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans takes care of C.

"That's a nice name," the child closed his eyes and nodded happily at the remark. It wasn't a nice name, but Sans already knew it would be something like that. He wanted to show that he was friendly and be nice to him, but he heard the child call out to his brother with a single letter, definitely short-hand for his serial code too. Maybe he could call him by a friendlier name like he was used to with his brother? "Do you mind if I just call you...C? Are you okay with that?"

C paused for a moment before nodding slowly, never taking his eyes off Sans' face. Even though he was uncomfortable, Sans nodded and smiled back. "This stuff is called mashed potatoes. You can eat it, and it tastes really good! I made it myself."

"Mashed...potatoes," C regarded the plate with a strange expression, like he was seeing it for the first time.

"Yep, you can have everything on that plate."

The small skeleton sniffed the air above the plate again, scooting closer to the edge of his seat. C grabbed some of the potatoes with his hand and felt it, squishing and testing it before putting it in his mouth, eyesockets widening as he did so, like something unexpected happened. He obviously liked it because he picked up a couple more handfuls and continued to eat, making pleased sounds as he did so. He was making a big mess though, some of it falling from his hands and onto his ribs and legs, some missing and hitting the floor or his chair. C shied away from the spoon Sans had placed on his plate but he didn't blame him.

They needed to find out how much these kids knew so they could help them as best they can. Hopefully with their help they can adjust quickly and start healing soon. C seemed to be not so bad off, he was eating and talking and generally complying with him and Papyrus, so that was a good start, but even at a glance Sans could see his scarred arms and marred bones, and the awful tiredness in his posture. He could even see a familiar black marking on the child's arm. Sans grabbed his own arm in the same place at the sight and nervously rubbed it.

The small skeleton finished the mashed potatoes and scraped at the plate, trying to get every last bit. "How does it taste?" 

C was rubbing his phalanges against his teeth trying to get the rest of the food off of them, but not doing so well. "Tastes... good." He paused between his words, like he didn't know the right word to say.

"Good. Do you...want to take a bath?" Sans knows they are going to take time to adjust but this mess was bothering him, and C had probably never had a real bath before. It would be good to clean these kids properly as soon as possible.

"What's...bath?"

"A bath is when you use water to clean your body." Sans tried to say it in a simple way that wouldn't bring up any bad memories or thoughts, but C's face turned sour at that. If C's 'baths' at the Lab were anything like Sans' and Papyrus' when they were younger, it wasn't too pleasant, certainly nothing Sans would be agreeing to do of his own will if he could help it. He really didn't want to think about that right now, he wanted to focus on helping C feel comfortable. "Don't worry! The water will be nice, and warm. It will also help you feel better, okay?" C simply nodded, extended his arm out and balled his fist. 

Instead of grabbing him by the wrist like Sans knew he probably expected, he picked him up with both hands and stood him on the floor, keeping one hand pressed gently onto his shoulder and guided him across the living room towards the stairs. C's walking started to get uncoordinated, that was probably the painkillers working their magic. He guided the small skeleton up the stairs carefully, keeping his hand firm but loose, ready to catch him should he fall.

They reached the top of the stairs and turned into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Sans walked towards the tub and turned the faucet on, unleashing a torrent of water. Steam filled the room as the two skeletons watched the bathtub fill, C peering over the edge curiously. Sans took his gloves off and laid them on the sink before dipping one of his hands into the pool, testing the temperature. It wasn't too hot, it actually felt really good. C watched Sans' bare hand float below the water before it pulled out, looking intensely at it.

Sans realized he was staring at his own marred hand.

Pushing the thought out of his mind, he turned to pick C up and slowly lowered him into the tub, letting him hover with his feet in the water so he could feel it. It must have felt unusual to C because he squirmed in Sans' grasp. His face was looking down at the water questioningly but not uncomfortably. He sat him in the tub kindly, the water just reaching below C's clavicles.

"How does it feel?"

"Bath feels... good."

Sans nodded and watched over C with half closed eyes. The painkiller he took was taking effect but alone he could shrug it off. Combined with the comfortable steam and heat of the bathroom, it was making him feel tired. To distract himself, Sans brought out a rag from the sink cabinet and dipped it in the water. C watched the rag with interest before Sans handed it to him. 

"Here, use this to wipe your face off and clean your hands," Sans thought about offering to do it himself but didn't want to feel so imposing over the child. He wanted him to have some feeling of independence, to do basic things for himself. C took the rag and regarded it for a moment, feeling it over before bringing it to his face and wiping his teeth and cheeks clumsily. 

The two of them sat there in the bathroom for while, Sans letting C just enjoy being warm and hopefully not in as much pain as before. C splashed in the water and rubbed at his bones with the rag until Sans deemed him pretty clean.

"Okay, are you ready to get out?" C's expression saddened at that but after pausing briefly, nodded. Sans helped him out of the bath and wrapped a fluffy cream-colored towel around him. Sans pulled the plug out of the bathtub and walked with C out the door, keeping his hand on C's shoulder the same way he did before.

He helped C down the stairs again, careful to keep him upright. Once at the bottom, Sans guided him to the couch, picked him up and sat him down gently, keeping (what he hoped) was a caring grasp on C's arms through the towel, hoping he wasn't too scared of the simple touch.

"How are you feeling now? Better?" Sans gave him a soft smile and tried to keep eye contact but C looked to the side. He gave an affirmative noise and nodded. He pressed the towel into C in an attempt to dry him and when his hands came to C's back, he rubbed comforting circles through the soft towel. He laid one of his hands to C's side idly. Sans felt so sorry for these poor kids and just wanted them to feel comfortable. He thought it was going to be a lot worse, but it might still be savable. Papyrus said these kids had not escaped, so that means they were never out starving on the streets, fending for themselves. That was a good thing, but also bad. They have probably never experienced a drop of freedom in their lives until now. 

C had been surprisingly compliant with him, but he didn't want to feel like he wasn't giving him a choice, that he had no other option but to do what Sans was suggesting. Right now Sans was trying to help him and not make him do anything he might be uncomfortable with. 

Curious, Sans wanted to see if C remembered his name. He told him the first time but he obviously forgot pretty quickly, and with all that... excitement going on, Sans didn't blame him. But if he was going to stay here, he needed to feel comfortable calling Sans by his name. He wanted to show C that he was a friend.

"C... do you remember who I am?" C's head turned to Sans', although his gaze was directed downward. He stared for a moment before looking up at the taller skeleton, and nodded.

"Sssa... Sans."

"Very good!" So Sans is getting through to him. That's a great sign. He's actually looking forward to teaching C about stuff now. He thought a little about the future, they'd have to get these kids some toys and books, clothes, teach them all different kinds of things that they would never have learned trapped in that horrible lab. Maybe now they won't grow up to be such bad people. Sans wondered for a moment how this kid grew up to be so cruel. He seemed alright now, but maybe all he needed was some guidance.

Breaking him from his thoughts, he felt something brush against his still ungloved hand. Reacting on instinct, Sans flinched, nearly whipping his whole arm backwards but controlled himself. He looked down at the feeling on his hand and saw C's hand touching his. Half of C's hand was covered by a disturbingly familiar-looking copper plate. There were several other cracks and gashes cutting across his phalanges too. It made Sans wince, he thought of withdrawing his hand from the smaller skeleton but resisted. C was actually touching him, and he didn't want to startle him.

"Sans... is hurting?" Sans' gaze snapped back up attentively at those words. C's hand was touching Sans', the same one that had its own plate screwed into it. The scars were still disgustingly visible, even after years of healing. Sans looked away from their entwined hands.

"N-no... not anymore."

"Oh," he said flatly. C brought his hand away from Sans', curling both of his hands against his rib cage.

"Can I... see your arm, please?" The small skeleton looked up at Sans with something almost like fear before closing his eyes. He brought his right arm from out of the towel's protection and held it straight out towards Sans. He grabbed it and gently turned it so he could see those haunting markings. Large black markings lined his radius and it hurt him to look at.

**"W.D. G E1 03-C"**

Sans let out a breath he didn't remember holding and trailed up the skeleton's arm. Notches of all sizes were prominent on his humerus accompanied by several small holes and pockmarks. It made Sans' own arm itch. He looked from C's humerus to his own, noting just how well he had healed over the years. Marks were still visible but it was hard to notice, harder if you weren't a skeleton monster.

He felt C's arm go slack in his grasp, and noticed his eyesockets were becoming droopy and his body seemed to relax in the warm towel. 

"Are you hurting?"

C's eyes flicked up to meet Sans', but otherwise kept the same sleepy expression. His teeth parted slightly as if he were about to speak but nothing came out. His brow furrowed and he looked torn at Sans' question. He released C's arm and it retracted slowly back into the towel.

"Are you tired?"

C jerkily nodded his head and slumped back completely against the couch, wrapping himself deeper in the towel. Sans was about to offer to take him to his room, but remembered his brother was still in there dealing with...that.

As the thought crossed his mind, Papyrus emerged from the door at the top of the stairs, shutting the door behind him gently and looking down the stairs towards Sans. Papyrus didn't look so good, he was sweating and rubbed his hands together before putting them back in his hoodie pocket. 

"Papyrus, is everything okay?" He held C tighter, ready to hear the bad news, but Papyrus just shook his head and brought his hand out to wipe sweat from his skull. He looked shocked at his hand, like he didn't realize just how much he was sweating.

"Doctor, N is hurting?" Sans turned to see C more awake and tense than moments ago, staring hard at Papyrus. Hearing him say that name hurt, especially because he was calling Papyrus that again. Sans looked back to Papyrus and he looked freaked out, but composed himself a little. He started to descend the stairs.

"Nnnnno, your brother is okay right now. He will still be hurting for a while, but I'm going to help him." 

Papyrus approached the couch carefully before crouching before it, getting eye-level with C. 

"C, this isn't The Doctor, or any doctor. This is my brother...Papyrus," Sans tried to pronounce it easily like he had with his own name, seeing that C copied him and remembered it easier. "Can you say that? Papyrus?"

C's eyes lit up and repeated his brother's name, although sloppily. He was looking at Sans while he said it though, which might not be the best. Sans pointed to his brother and repeated it. "That's Papyrus, see?" C followed Sans' direction and looked towards Papyrus slowly. He nodded and repeated it again, better but still pronouncing it a bit off.

"Papyrus."

Papyrus smiled at that and nodded back to C. "That's pretty good. Uh, What's your name?"

C shot his brother the same look he did when Sans asked that question. It was... unnerving but Sans tried to keep his cool during it, prepared for the string of symbols that left C's mouth after he asked, but not for that look C gave him. That was...creepy. 

"My name is WDG E-ONE ZERO THREE C."

Papyrus' face changed slightly but he managed to keep it fairly neutral, Sans could tell he probably wasn't prepared for the look that C gave him either. He knew C was still adjusting but the first thing he should learn is that is not his name.

"C... from now on, you should tell other people to call you C, and tell yourself that your name is C too. Not WDG E one zero three C. Your name is C, okay?" At least for now. From meeting their future selves Sans already knew what kind of names they would have, but for now they were going to take it one step at a time. 

C looked at Sans confused, and then brought his code-stained arm out from the towel and looked at it with a furrowed brow, like he was trying to make sure he got it right.

"That's...not what Doctor said..."

Oh boy. Another bad thing about being taken straight from the lab. C's environment changed within the span of a single day, giving him no time to adjust. He doesn't understand that he's not going to see Gaster ever again, and that there isn't going to be any more tests or experiments or pain and hurt ever again. He didn't understand that he was safe now. It was too soon, and they didn't get a chance to explain well enough.

"C... can you...tell me about Doctor?" C looked at Papyrus questioningly, his mouth parted for a moment but snapped shut. He wrung his hands together and stared down at them. 

"D-doctor?" Papyrus only nodded confirmingly. C looked away and the room was completely silent as Sans and Papyrus waited for him to speak.

"Doctor...hurt N," C's voice wavered as he spoke. He looked back up to the room where N was at.

A beat of silence passed and Papyrus questioned again. "Did he hurt you too?"

C nodded. It hurt Sans to witness this exchange, but he wanted to help C badly. He wasn't going to get better overnight, but talking about it was going to help. This was necessary, and Papyrus knew it.

"He's not ever going to hurt you or N again. You're safe here. Me and Sans are going to help you, okay? Sans already helped you, didn't he?" C nodded again, and looked up at Sans.

"Remember how good that bath felt?" He clutched the towel around himself and looked lost in thought, although he was smiling. "Tomorrow you can have another bath, does that sound good?"

"Yes!" C chirped out. He sounded happy, it felt like they made a ton of progress even through just one day of being away from that lab, but Sans knew the road to recovery was going to be a long one.

Although C sounded happy, he still had an underlying tone of drowsiness to his voice. Sans knew he was still tired, probably mostly from the painkiller but the warm bath and full stomach contributing as well. Now that Papyrus was out of that room, C could go back to being with his brother.

"C, do you want to go see your brother now?" He nodded jerkily and reached his arm out from the towel, balling his fist again. He'd learn eventually that Sans isn't just going to drag him where he needed to be, but until then he's only acting on what he knows. Sans stood, picking C up and placing him on the floor. While walking up the stairs, C tripped, almost falling forward onto his palms and knees but Sans caught him just before he could fall. He sounded out of breath and held Sans' arms tightly against his body.

"It's okay, I've got you," phew. That was close. Sans adjusted C's body so that he was easier to pick up and did, carrying him in his arms to his old bedroom. Sans could tell he was nearly asleep at that point, but when Sans approached his old bed and laid C on it, C turned to face his brother.

C's brother was laying on his back with the blankets covering him. He had bandages covering his eyes and Papyrus told him that he had gotten two eye implants. Just thinking about it and looking at this poor kid made Sans eyes twitch and hurt. He could feel the phantom pain of the surgery after he'd been deemed well enough to not be on sedatives anymore. 

Sans resisted the urge to scratch at his eye and think of those awful memories.

Exhaling, Sans looked at C who was peering curiously over his brother sleepily. Sans bent down and pulled the blanket over C as well. C looked up at him confusedly. Sans could guess why.

"This will keep you warm while you're sleeping. Make sure your brother stays warm too, okay? If you need anything, we'll be right out the door."

C didn't respond to that and turned back to his brother, putting his hand on his shoulder. Sans exhaled and stood to leave the room, looking back before shutting it behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still sick. Still don't know if this is a good idea. I think when I stop being sick I'll look back on this and die inside. I kinda just write it then post it without thinking, so there might be errors but at least it updates fast right? (fast updates not guaranteed)
> 
> Again if there's any glaring issues or errors or I'm not tagging something right, feel free to let me know.


	3. Chapter 3

Sans descended the stairs and walked to the couch where Papyrus was at and threw himself on it. Silence reigned for a couple of minutes before either of them spoke.

"Papyrus?"

"Eh?"

"Is something wrong?"

Papyrus turned his head to look at Sans, "You mean besides the fact that we got two kids we can't take care of?"

"No, I meant when you came out of my room. You looked, well, bad. You were all sweaty. Did something happen with N?"

"Oh that. No, the kid's doing okay, well, as good as someone in his condition could be doing anyway."

"Then why did you look so freaked out when you left my room?"

"Oh...well, I was just thinking about some things," Papyrus stopped looking at Sans and scooted forward so he was sitting on the edge of the couch. He rested his elbows on his knees and looked down at the ground. "Bad things. Things that don't matter anymore."

"Papyrus... were you having an attack again?"

"No. It's been a long time since I've had one of those. Besides, it doesn't matter anymore. We're fine now, right? And these kids are going to be fine too now. No use being stuck in the past anymore."

Sans nodded and relaxed at the mention of the kids, "Okay, as long as you're alright now. But what do you mean we can't take care of them? We can handle this! We just need to get some more supplies and we can do it! We have to, we're the only ones who can."

"Supplies? Like, clothes and stuff, right?"

"Yeah, they're gonna need some clothes, books, toys, and we need to get a new mattress for me if I'm going to be sleeping in your room. I don't want to sleep on that horrible stained mess again and I'm not sleeping on the couch forever."

"Hey, those stains are dry you know. They're not gonna hurt you."

"What did you even do to stain half of your mattress purple anyway?" 

"Heh heh... I forget."

"You're also a loud snorer," Sans spoke teasingly, poking at Papyrus' shoulder, "I'm gonna have to clean your room if I'm gonna be living in there too."

"Noo, you promised you'd leave my room alone."

"Yeah when it was just 'your' room. Now it's 'our' room. You can keep your mess on your half of the room for all I care, but if I wake up rolling around in filth, you're gonna be sorry."

"Deal, heh heh."

Sans tried to hide his smile but it forced its way onto his face, he couldn't hold it in anymore and turned to hug his brother, wrapping his arms around his waist and catching him off guard. Papyrus responded by wrapping one of his arms around Sans' back and pulling tight. They embraced for a moment before letting go, returning to their seats on the couch.

"Hey I was thinking... I wanted to go run by the dump for a while to see if I could find some things, so later this evening when C wakes up he could have something fun to do. We've got some books here but we don't really have anything for kids to read."

"Oh, okay, but before you go... I wanted to talk about, well, our job situation."

Sans' smile died down on his face and he looked to Papyrus like he already knew what he wanted to say.

"I know your jobs pay for the house Papyrus, I can quit being a sentry for a while to stay here, I'll give Alphys a call tomorrow, I'm sure she'll understand. 

"Right. I'm just sorry that you had to give up your dream job for this, and I don't want anything bad to happen while I'm not here. We still don't know these kids well enough, what if one of them hurts you? Or they get hurt?"

"I'll be okay here by myself. I can handle them, you saw how well I took care of C right? Besides, these kids are more important than being part of the Royal Guard right now. I joined because I wanted to help people, but if I can be more helpful to these kids by being here for them, then that's what I'll do. If anything happens, I can call or text you and you'll be right here, won't you?"

"Well, yeah..."

"See, it's going to be fine, you worry too much. I can handle myself, I'm the Great Sans after all!"

"Yeah, you're right bro, sorry I doubted you. You're the best brother I could ask for." Papyrus gave him a sincere smile and flopped back on the couch, kicking his leg up to rest on his knee. 

Sans got up and walked to the door where his blue boots were and crouched to put them on. Almost forgetting his gloves, he stomped up to the bathroom quick to retrieve them. He would also need a backpack to help bring back anything he found, stealing into Papyrus' room and grabbing his old beige knapsack before making his way his way back downstairs. He waved to Papyrus, said his farewells and exited onto the cold streets of Snowdin.

 

~

 

After a nice relaxing boat ride, Sans arrived in Waterfall. Passing by a couple of houses, he reached the dump and entered. You never knew what you could find here, most of it was trash from the surface world and a lot of things were broken, but still repairable if you were creative or inventive enough.

He hoped he could find something here that C could learn to call his own, like Sans and Papyrus had when they escaped and made their way here. They found a bunch of blankets that kept them warm, but didn't really understand what toys were, and certainly didn't have time to care about anything besides warmth and food. It brought Sans some happiness that those poor kids didn't have to go through those hard times in order to find a place to call home.

Lost in thought, Sans idly looked around the mounds of trash and piles of garbage, looking for any sort of object that could interest him. A lot of the trash was dull and boring, nothing quite catching his eye, but that just meant he was looking in the wrong place. All these piles of trash had probably been raided, seeing how close to the entrance he still was. All the best stuff here would have been taken long ago. He waded deeper through the dump and continued until he met a broken dock, half of the boards snapped and underwater. Here's where all the best stuff was.

A new excitement was born in Sans as he jumped from the piece of boarding he was stood on to a large pile of garbage. It had been a while since he last came here, now that they had jobs and money they could buy things from the store(which was mostly stuff from the dump anyway,) but they didn't want to be seen buying striped shirts and children's books, that might lead to some unusual questions that the skeleton brothers were not prepared to answer.

Throwing anything that didn't interest him over his back haphazardly, Sans tore through the trash to find something, anything that might be nice and eventually succeeded. There was a stack of colorful books with large print on the covers. and they were still pretty clean, if a bit damp. Sans would have to dry and fix them up but they were perfect. He brought the backpack around to his front and set the books inside before closing and throwing it back over his shoulder. 

He continued to rifle through the colorful garbage, discarding any weird electronics, dangerous-looking machine parts and damaged-beyond-repair fabrics but eventually reached the bottom, everything else in the pile was below water and most likely destroyed. 

With a huff, Sans got up and turned to check out the other piles of trash nearby. They had some colorful objects decorating them but didn't actually look too interesting. Looking through the second trash mound, he found nothing of interest so he moved on to the third.

After searching through the third pile for a while, Sans found a couple of toys. There was a small dragon with soft, faded blue scales and a strange looking red lion toy. The toys were surprisingly in good condition all things considered. He'd have to clean them a bit but they were great. He turned to place them in the backpack before looking through several more piles of garbage for any clothes that might be hidden. He found some blankets which would be nice, a lot of old pants that were way too big and a couple of plain T-shirts. Too bad they weren't striped, and although they were big they would still be wearable.

Feeling accomplished, Sans packed all of his treasure into the knapsack before pulling out his phone to check the time. He'd been out for a couple hours now, it was almost 7:30. This would have to do. He could come back some other day. For now it was getting late, and hopefully everything was alright at the house. Sans waded through the water back towards the Waterfall docks.

 

~

 

Sans thought he was being quiet but Papyrus cracked an eye when he heard the door open. He had been napping, exhausted after today and last night but still stayed half awake in case one of the kids needed something. Sans would kill him if he found him-

"Sleeping Papyrus? Really?" 

Papyrus opened his eyes and saw Sans standing there looking at him, his clothes were filthy and damp and he discarded his soaking boots next to the door.

"Nah, was just resting my eyes. I was _bone tired_ ," Sans made a scoffing noise and set Papyrus' old bag down onto the table before turning to face him. "Find anything good?"

"I found some toys and books, some clothes too but not a lot. I'll have to go back there soon and see what else I can find but some other day. Right now I'm going to take a bath, ugh, I'm covered in mud."

"While you're doing that, I'll go in and check on them. They must've been sleeping for a while now, and I got some medicine I wanna give to them."

"Mm alright, after my bath I'll make some dinner for all of us."

"Sounds good bro, I'm starving."

Papyrus waited until Sans disappeared into the bathroom and a couple of minutes more before acting. He raced up the stairs and down to his room, entering the messy, familiar space. In the corner of his room was a white, medium-sized tote bag. He walked to the bag and crouched down to reach inside, rummaging through until he found what he was looking for: a small, palm sized cylindrical container. He tossed it up in the air before catching it and turning on his heel to leave.

 

Papyrus cracked the door open quietly and peered into the dimly lit room. Two small skeletons were laying together on the bed, the blanket half covering them. Papyrus pushed the door open all the way and entered quietly, but C woke up anyway, blinking blearily trying to find his surroundings. His gaze landed on Papyrus, and he sat up on his haunches, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. When Papyrus saw he had woken, he flicked on the light.

"Hey, I've got something to help you, some medicine," he spoke quietly and pulled out the flat tan container from his hoodie pocket, holding it out flat on his palm. "This will help heal your arms up so they'll stop hurting, and the cuts will go away soon."

C simply continued to look at him without a word. Papyrus stepped forward and sat down on the bed slowly. He held the container out so C could see it more clearly and unscrewed the top. Inside was a pale substance with a hint of green. He swiped his index finger into the ointment and brought it near C.

"Do you mind if I see your arms, please?" Wordlessly C nodded and presented his arm to him, but Papyrus could feel the hesitation in his action. He applied the ointment carefully to C's cuts and scrapes, and dabbed a bit on his hands and fingers, away from the plate. C flinched sometimes but he tried to be as gentle as he could. He had C turn and covered his other arm in the healing substance as well. After he was done C looked a bit uncomfortable.

"It might sting for a while but you'll feel better afterward, I promise. I'm gonna put some on your brother as well, alright?" He applied the medicine to N's cuts, he'd seen them before when he gave him the sedatives earlier in the day, but now that he could compare it to C's injuries, he noted just how many more gashes and pockmarks he had compared to C. 

He'd need to go get some more supplies from Gaster's old lab, although he wasn't looking forward to it. Papyrus went there soon after this whole thing started when he realized N was so hurt, but the old lab was haunting. It looked like no one had been in there since the old man died, everything in there was still a secret to the world. The lab looked a lot smaller than he remembered, and he'd never rummaged through all the medical supplies before but looked for things that didn't have complex or crazy names, instead looking for things he'd knew would help. 

Painkillers, sedatives, some bandages, and hydrogen peroxide to be blunt. He wasn't a doctor, he didn't really know what else they would need and just wanted to leave that horrible lab as soon as he could, so he took what he could grab and left. The ointment would help but these kids were going to need something more powerful to help their scarred bones heal. This ointment wasn't heavy-duty stuff, it was the kind of thing you could pick up in any store, but he didn't want to apply anything too strong or scary looking to C, breaking his trust. He didn't want to act like the big bad Doctor.

Moving away from those thoughts, he realized they'd been sitting here quiet for a couple of minutes. He wanted to take this chance to ask C some things, like Doctor and his brother, and whatever else he knew.

"C, can you tell me how long it's been since your brother had surgery?" 

C looked down at his hands and began to count, furrowing his brow and tapping his fingers on one hand with his index finger on the other.

"Six days."

Only six days, huh? That's better than Papyrus initially thought, he might even wake up soon, but for now he would need to make sure he didn't wake up in a lot of pain. Papyrus looked down to put the cap back on to the ointment when he saw movement, C's arm was stretching out towards him and came to a rest on Papyrus' hand, brushing against his scars. He felt himself shake at the touch and tightly gripped the container. 

"Papyrus is hurting?"

It took him a moment to register what he said but he forced himself to relax. 

"No."

"...Looks hurting," C said sadly.

"Hm," Papyrus brought his free hand on top of C's and grabbed it gently, lifting it and turning his other hand, holding C's between his palms. He felt the plate as his fingers floated above it, barely touching the surface, and heard C make a small noise.

"Does it hurt?" He already knew the answer. C parted his teeth slightly, but paused and clutched his free hand close to him apprehensively.

"You know, I had the same pain in my hand when I was younger. These scars are from that, now my hands don't hurt anymore," C glanced Papyrus in sad awe before looking away. He looked like he was far away, deep in thought. He probably understood. "I can take this off soon, if you'd like," he rubbed C's hand to signal exactly what he meant. C snapped back up at the suggestion, looking uneasy but hopeful. That face was amazingly different than the look he wore when he spoke his own name earlier. He was like a robot reciting code then, but the look he had now warmed Papyrus' heart. He released the smaller skeleton's hand.

"Really?"

"Mhmm."

He almost immediately regretted saying that as soon as it left his mouth. Of course he wanted to do anything he could to help them, but how was he actually going to do that? Simply put, Papyrus was not a doctor. When he removed his own handplate it nearly ruined his hand, and while yes, his hand didn't hurt anymore now, he could still feel the pain if he moved it wrong. He got Sans' handplate off too but his didn't go much better. This was such an agonizing reminder of the pain he put Sans through. Now that he was older and had some sense he realized just how bad of an idea that had been for himself and his brother all those years ago. How they managed to survive with his stupidity, he'd never know.

At least now instead of whittling away and prying the plates off (and without painkillers, god he wished he had painkillers back then,) these kids would be so much better off. Their hands would still have scars and it would still be painful, but considerably less so. 

 

He was woken from his thoughts by a small knocking noise. He turned to see Sans standing in the door way holding something that smelled delicious, and a couple of other objects.

"Hey Papyrus, dinner's done. There's some downstairs for you."

Ah, he could see the subtle hint. Sans wanted to spend some time with C alone, and Papyrus was fine with that. He also needed some time to himself, these thoughts that kept invading his mind left him drained. As good as that nap was, he could use a full night's rest. He stood up from the bed and walked past his brother.

"Thanks."

 

~

 

Even though Sans had teased Papyrus earlier for napping, he knew he must be exhausted. He's been busy non-stop since yesterday morning, and Sans knew how much Papyrus loved his rest, Hopefully after dinner he'd go to sleep. Sans was also getting pretty tired, it was nearly time for bed but he couldn't sleep without his favorite story. Except instead of Papyrus reading to Sans, he was going to read to C. 

However that was for later. Right now he wanted to give C some dinner. He made him some spaghetti, not his specialty but easy to eat nonetheless. Judging by how he ate the mashed potatoes earlier, it was very likely that C had no experience eating food, or was fed actual food very rarely. Memories surfaced from his own time in the labs, most of the energy he had was given with injections or pills, and it was probably the same for C. It turned Sans' stomach thinking about it. Hopefully this would give C lots of energy to help him recover.

He managed the objects in his hands as he made his way towards the bed, careful not to drop anything. C watched him as he sat down next to him, probably interested in all the things he was holding. He had brought one of his old shirts to give to C, it was kinda big for him but not too big. The shirt was an off-white and had some small holes in it, but it was better than dirty clothes from the dump. He was reminded that he'd have to wash those tonight before he slept. He also had his favorite book, 'Fluffy Bunny Finds His Home,' it was one of the first books Sans had read all by himself but he still liked it when Papyrus read it to him sometimes. Along with dinner, the shirt and the book, Sans brought a towel in case C got dirty eating again. 

He sat down onto the bed and handed the plate to C, who took it confusingly.

"Some more food, this time it's spaghetti. It's a bit different than mashed potatoes but still really delicious!"

C eyed the food hungrily and almost dug in with his hands before Sans stopped him.

"Ah! Ah! Wait, use this," Sans pointed at the fork, C only stared at it confused. "You don't have to use your hands to eat, you'll get dirty. Here, hold it like this," Sans placed the utensil in C's unplated right hand and clasped his grip around it. He held it clumsily and stared at it dumbfounded. Sans picked up his own fork and dug it into his own plate, hoping if C saw what he did he could copy him. He did attempt it for himself, stabbing into the spaghetti and only catching a couple of noodles before shoving them in his mouth. He made a pleased noise and continued to eat.

It took a while but they finished with dinner, setting their plates aside. Like Sans predicted, C's face was messy with sauce. He gave C the towel to let him wash his face, and after missing a couple of spots, was clean. 

Next, Sans fished the shirt from the small pile on the floor and handed it to C. It was large but it would cover just past C's knees, which would be alright to sleep in for tonight. It was difficult for him to get it on but succeeded with Sans' help. He looked at the shirt with a strange expression but didn't seem uncomfortable, he'd get used to wearing clothes after a couple of days. 

Now it was story time. Sans presented the book to C and he regarded it intensely.

"C, do you know how to read?"

"...Mm...a little. N was teaching me but..." he trailed off.

"But?"

"...N said tests were hard and he was tired, so he stopped."

"Well don't worry, I can teach you!" C's face lit up at that, and Sans opened the book to present it to him. He decided tonight he would just read to him, hopefully he would learn something from it but he was going to leave the teaching for tomorrow. Sans just wanted C to enjoy listening to the story rather than focus on learning, and honestly Sans was too tired right now. 

"Fluffy Bunny was at his home in the grassy field, but Fluffy Bunny was sad. He didn't know why though.  
That night, it rained and Fluffy Bunny left his home to find some shelter.  
In the morning, Fluffy Bunny found out that he was lost!  
Fluffy Bunny tried to find his way home, but couldn't.  
Fluffy Bunny met many friendly people along the way that told him how to find the grassy field, Fluffy Bunny wanted to be friends with them but couldn't. He had to go home.  
He said goodbye to all his friends and eventually found his way home but Fluffy Bunny was sad again but didn't know why.  
Eventually Fluffy Bunny realized it was because he missed his new friends!  
Fluffy Bunny learned that day that 'home' is where you are happy."

During the story, Sans could feel C leaning on his arm while he read. He closed the book and set it on the bed next to him before turning to the smaller skeleton. He looked half asleep before Sans stirred him. Sans felt drowsy too, that story always sent him to sleep. He wrapped his hand carefully around C, happy that he was so comfortable around him like this. 

"What did you think of the story?"

"It was good story," he said sleepily.

"Yeah it's a great book. I found some other books today that you can have, you can practice reading them tomorrow. How do you feel?"

"Feels...strange."

"Strange how?"

"Still feels hurting but...not as much."

Oh. He feels strange not being in pain. That made Sans' soul twist a little, but now he'd have to learn that he didn't have to be in pain all the time. That it was normal to feel good, or at least, not in pain. Sans would have to remember that he's only been out of the lab for about a day, he was still going to be in considerable pain for a while. Luckily it seemed that before he came into the room Papyrus gave him that medicine he mentioned earlier.

"Do you want a painkiller?"

C nodded slowly and Sans released him from his grip, quickly pacing downstairs to the kitchen to retrieve the pill and rushing back upstairs to deliver it. He handed it to C and he dry-swallowed it. Hopefully this would make him tired enough for him to go back to sleep. Lots of rest would help him recover too, but he didn't want him to be awake all by himself in his room. And with that, Sans felt his tired bones catch up with him, it was time to go to sleep.

"Here, C," Sans handed the book to the small skeleton and stood up, "I'm going to go downstairs to sleep. If you need anything, come wake me up, okay?" C nodded and Sans turned to leave the room, pacing down the stairs and finally collapsing on the couch.

He took the blanket from the back of the couch and draped it over himself, falling into a calm sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> remember how i said this would be short and sweet yeah we got a ways to go. had to get some stuff out of the way this chapter but things will pick up soon.
> 
> I always want to write Underfell fanfictions but end up writing underswap anyway. It's a problem.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took a while, it ended up being longer than I thought it would be. The events in this chapter don't happen one after another, apologies if it seems kind of weird.
> 
> Next chapter is nearly half finished so that should come soon.

The next day, one of the first things Sans did was call up the captain of the Royal Guard, Alphys, and told her that he was quitting. She was shocked, (understandably, since he was a shoo-in to becoming part of the Royal Guard,) but accepted it after he explained how he had to help his brother with something urgent, that he would try again someday, that they could still be friends and he'd come over to visit sometime.

The next thing Sans did was clean up everything he scavenged from the dump then presented it to C, (everything except the toys, that would be a surprise for later.) He exchanged the off-white shirt Sans had given him the day before for a grayish-blue one. It was still kinda big on him but that was fine. That night, Sans showed him all of the books and asked him to pick one to read, he had a hard time deciding but Sans helped him pick, and he read to him until he fell asleep.

Sans also made sure to get himself a new mattress so he wouldn't have to sleep on the couch or Papyrus' dirty bed ever again.

 

Over the week, the skeleton household fell into a comfortable routine. In the morning they would all have breakfast and Papyrus would give both of the children medicine. Afterwards Sans would dedicate some time teaching C to read or write. He was pretty good at it, but would accidentally write letters as Wing Dings sometimes. When noon rolled around, Sans would make lunch for him and C, as normally Papyrus was out working. C seemed to be a bottomless stomach, Sans had offered him seconds and he took them without question before scarfing it down. He was still a messy eater, but was getting better at using utensils.

When lunch was done, C would return to his room and rest until dinner, and Sans would sometimes go out to the dump to see if he could find any interesting treasure he could bring back. When he returned home he'd take a bath before giving C his own. Every day Sans took this time to examine him, checking if his body had healed any, and indeed it had. He looked so much better than when he first came here, every single day Sans could see an improvement to his health. 

After bathtime Papyrus would give both of the kids medicine again, it took a couple of days before C stopped being in so much pain he accepted painkillers eagerly, and his tired posture improved to one that held more energy.

Then came Sans' favorite part of the day, and he was sure it was C's as well: story time. Every day they would read a new story, and Sans would teach him any words he didn't already know. Most of the time C would fall asleep before he reached the end of the story. Sans would make sure he was comfortable under the blankets with his sleeping brother and leave them both to rest.

 

~

 

"C?"

He was sitting on the couch, book in hand. He looked over towards Sans, who was stood in the kitchen doorway.

"I have a surprise for you," Sans went to sit in the middle of the floor and patted the ground next to him. C closed the book and set it beside him before he scooted himself off the couch and joined him on the floor. He gave him a cheerful smile before pulling two objects out from behind him.

They were the toys from the dump, a red lion and a blue dragon. He held one in each hand and looked to C expectantly.

"Do you know what these are?"

C shook his head.

"They're toys and you can play with them, it's a lot of fun. I want you to pick one and you can have it, okay?" C seemed confused as he looked between both of the toys, holding his arms close to him. 

Sans knew he probably had never experienced a real choice before, and wanted him to feel some freedom that he could choose whichever he wanted without consequence. It seemed like Sans was right, C was quietly contemplating the decision for a couple of minutes before he spoke, low and bewildered.

"...What's the right answer?"

"There is no right answer. You can pick whichever one you want, but you can't have both. Which one do you like more?"

C looked between both of the the choices again before his gaze landed on the red lion toy, and he questioningly pointed at it. Sans handed it to him and he took it carefully, as if it were going to break if he moved an inch.

"There, it's yours now, so you have to take care of it, okay?" After a moment C held it tightly against his chest and the room settled into a comfortable quiet.

Sans was going to give the other one to his brother when he woke up and recovered a little. Hopefully he would like it. He couldn't wait to meet him, if he was anything like C then he'd have his hands full and become even more exhausted at the end of the day, C alone took so much energy out of him but having two of them running around? He could just see how crazy the house could become. 

But it would be worth it.

 

~

 

Every day Papyrus would decrease the dosage of heavy painkillers that he gave to N by a large margin until he stopped altogether. He still administered some light painkillers and had to inject magical substance directly into his soul, but he had to test the waters to see if he would wake up.

And he did.

 

One night when he was about to give the kids medicine and check up on them, N stirred in his sleep. C was the first one to notice it, and while Papyrus was distracted, C called out his brother's name, and he quickly rushed to their side.

Papyrus could tell he was extremely disorientated, his head lolled back and forth lazily on the pillow, trying to find his surroundings but failing. Papyrus rested one of his hands on the small skeleton's shoulder, hoping it would comfort him, but if N responded to the action, he didn't notice it.

"C?" He tried responding to his brother, but his voice was very raspy when he spoke.

"N? Can you hear me?" The only response Papyrus received was a low groan. 

Well it didn't seem like he was in overwhelming pain anymore, more like he was groggy from being asleep for so long.

Papyrus leaned over the short skeleton and questioned him again but received the same response as before. C came close to his brother and called out to him again before grabbing his hand and holding it tight. He could see N's hand squeezing his brother's weakly.

"I'm here," C laid over his brother and hugged him, N's arms were still for a moment but he wrapped them around C's back, not pulling or squeezing but just resting them there. Papyrus let them stay like that for a moment before interrupting.

"N, how are you feeling? Are you hurting?" 

N swallowed and clutched his arms around C's shirt, and his breathing got more intense.

He seemed afraid, but that was understandable. When C first saw Papyrus he thought he was Gaster, but all this kid has to work on is hearing, and he was pretty out of it. Papyrus didn't expect him to know what was going on, he had only just woken up, but he was at least conscious now. He should try to explain what's going on, even if he might not understand.

"N, I'm not The Doctor, you're never going to see The Doctor ever again. You and your brother are safe here."

A small noise came from N and he kept holding tightly onto his brother. He probably can't comprehend what's going on right now so Papyrus left it at that. He'd have to try again when he was more awake.

"C, N needs to take his painkiller. He's still hurting, so can you let me see him for a moment?"

C made an affirmative noise and attempted to pull away, N was still clutching on to his shirt but let go after a few tugs. 

Papyrus held out the pill and hovered over N. 

"N, I've got some medicine here, it will the pain go away. Can you open your mouth, please?" N turned his head away from the source of the voice and groaned again. He obviously didn't want to take any more medicines but he had to. Papyrus wasn't about to let him wallow blind and in pain, which most of the pain from his surgery was probably gone now but his body was still in terrible condition.

After some hesitation, N's body went from tense to slack and he allowed Papyrus to give him the pill.

 

The three of them sat in silence for a couple of minutes, Papyrus silently observing and thinking about what to do now that N was finally awake, but the silence grew painful and a thought occured to him. This is the first time he's woken up in some time and he probably wanted to spend some time with someone he was familiar with, C. 

"C, if either of you or your brother need anything, anything at all, feel free to come and get me or Sans. We'll be out in the living room."

C nodded and Papyrus left the room, closing the door softly on his way out.

 

This continued for a while, Papyrus would check on N and try to explain briefly how he's safe now, but not get much of a response. It couldn't hurt to try, he figured, but he wouldn't drone on for too long on deaf ears before giving him some medicine and leaving him and C alone.

It was really painful for Papyrus to give N the magical substance, he still couldn't eat solids (and he's probably never even had solid magical food before,) but he couldn't do it with C around. He had to do it in while C was eating in the kitchen or taking a bath. He hated himself for doing it, he could sense the terror the younger skeleton felt when he summoned his soul, and he could feel the already non-existent trust disappear. Papyrus thought to himself that it would be okay afterwards when he could explain what was going on, but it only grew harder to inject the syringe into N's soul. He felt so bad that one day he even tried to feed him something solid, a cinnamon bunny, but he wouldn't eat it.

 

Over the next couple of days N became more conscious, and getting him to take medicine was becoming more difficult. He would still do it, but Papyrus could feel the reluctance and distrust in the air. He really hated that feeling. Then whenever he would check up on C or try to give him anything was met with N holding his brother close and not let go, becoming very defensive, but still silent. He even had C try to tell him that 'The Doctor' was gone now, but it seemed like C still barely understood the situation himself. 

Papyrus would just huff and leave it at that, he would have to wait until he could fully explain to N about the situation. He was going to wait until his vision completely returned before acting, so he could see for himself that it was safe. 

It was annoying that he couldn't really tend to either of them but at least they weren't in a life or death situation, he just hoped N wasn't in more pain than he was letting on.

And honestly, Papyrus would probably be doing the same thing in his situation. 

 

He would just have to wait.

 

~

 

It had been four days since Papyrus told Sans that N had woken up. For a while they had a sort of routine and of course he still had C eating breakfast, lunch and dinner, most of C's free time was now spent with his brother and Papyrus was the one who watched over N. Sans wanted to give them some space so they could be together for a while and since they were already familiar with one another, it might help N feel more comfortable here without him and Papyrus in the picture, at least, for a while. 

Right now Sans figured it would be a good time to introduce himself briefly and maybe read them a story. He hadn't been able to read to C in a couple of days, giving him space to be alone with his brother but that would come to an end today.

Sans approached the decorated door and reached for the knob when he heard something. It sounded like a voice, like C's voice. He was talking but Sans couldn't hear what he was saying. Slowly he hovered his head near the door and got as close as he could get without bumping his skull against the wood and listened.

He could barely make it out, C was pausing and stumbling over his words sometimes. It sounded like... he was reading from a book. He stood breathlessly for a moment before gently rapping on the door and opening it.

He peered inside the dark room, looking directly to his old bed where two small forms were propped up against the wall, one of them looking back at Sans. C was sitting cross-legged on the bed with an open book on his lap and the toy in his arms. N was slouching against his brother, but he seemed to notice Sans. His hand was grabbing onto his brother's arm tightly.

"Hey C. Mind if I come in?"

The small skeleton made a noise and Sans took that as a yes. He closed the door quietly behind him and slowly approached the bed, smiling down at the two children.

C nodded and wrapped his free arm around N, pulling them even closer than they were before. N buried his face into his brother's shirt, grabbing tightly onto the fabric.

"Were you... reading?"

He looked sheepishly down at the open book, "Oh. Um... yes."

"Well, I was going to read you guys a story, but it seems like you've already got it under control. Can you read to me too?"

"Oh... okay."

Sans sat down next to the bed and leaned over it, resting his elbow on the corner next to C and peering into the book on his lap. It took him a second before he started reading.

The book was about a turtle who met a bunch of different kinds of fish in the pond, the illustrations were cute but what really interested Sans was C. He was still stumbling over his words like he overheard from outside, but his reading and writing had improved so much over the past week and a half, it gave Sans a sort of pride in C. It was amazing to hear him sound out the words all by himself, and he was describing the images in the book to his brother. 

He reached the end of the story and rested the closed book in his lap. Sans could tell he was sleepy as he started to yawn by the end of it but he still wanted to ask him some things.

"How are you feeling, C?" 

He rubbed his eyes and sleepily replied, "tired."

"Mm. How's your brother doing? Any better?"

At that, N wrapped his arms around C and hugged him, burying his face into his brother's shirt. It looked like he caught C off guard, but he returned the hug with one arm.

"He's okay."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that."

He took one glance over at N and saw him completely buried into his brother and holding on to him tight, like he was his only lifeline. He must be shy, Sans thought, every time Sans was in the room he would act like this, clutching on to C and hiding behind him. Well, C was sleepy and N probably wanted to be left alone, so Sans left it there. He took the book from C's lap and put it on the bookshelf along with the others, then turned to leave. 

"Good night you two."

 

~

 

While Sans stole C to go take his bath, Papyrus decided to check up on N. He wanted to try to give him some real food again so he brought another cinnamon bunny.

He turned the doorknob to their room, giving it a moment before actually opening the door as to give warning he was entering. The door quietly clicked shut behind him and he stood almost surprised at what he saw. 

N was sitting on his haunches, leaning forward on all fours over the bed. The ripped remains of the bandages that used to cover his eyes in tatters on the sheet, and he was now staring at Papyrus with piercing white lights in his dark eye sockets. He looked Papyrus up and down fully before resting on his face, but his own expression never ceased to be intense.

Papyrus felt like a deer caught in headlights.

He snapped himself out of it and took a step closer to the bed, but froze again when N recoiled into the corner of the room. Both of his hands wrung together nervously and he could hear small tinging noises where his phalanges brushed over his handplate. 

In the back of his mind he thought about just how he was going to remove those damn plates.

He held up his hands to show he wasn't a threat to the smaller skeleton, but it did little to calm him.

"Hey..." He was at a loss of what to actually say, but he hoped that saying something, anything would cut down the tension of the room.

It didn't.

"Where's C?" it was more of a demand than a question.

"He'll be back soon, don't worry. It's you I'm worried about right now."

"You're not The Doctor," he stated it like Papyrus was actually trying to impersonate him but failing miserably, like his disguise had failed and he should just give up the act.

"No. I'm not. The Doctor is gone now, you won't ever see him again."

He waited to see if that would cause some sort of reaction, and N's face slowly changed from intense to confusion.

"He's...gone?"

"Mhmm. You aren't in the Labs anymore, you're in our house. There's not going to be any more experiments or tests ever again." He had explained this many times before but thought one more time couldn't hurt, especially now that his vision returned and he could see that Papyrus was telling the truth.

N's face turned incredulous, like Papyrus had told a very obvious lie. Although his expression was one of disbelief, Papyrus thought he could see the faintest hint of a smirk on his face.

"And why should I listen to you?"

The question caught Papyrus totally off guard. "Because I'm trying to help you."

N just stared at him silently and Papyrus knew he didn't believe him. After all, what reason did he have to believe that he was only trying to help?

Papyrus felt like he was rushing this, he forgot that it would take a long time for him to adjust and that this was only the beginning. He would have to try and take it slower. He wasn't as good with kids as Sans was. He gave a deep sigh but stopped when N's body tensed up and he pushed himself more in the corner.

"What's your name?" Papyrus asked. N had never stopped watching him but now he looked a bit irritated. It was silent and it seemed like he had no desire to answer the question. "My name's Papyrus, what's yours?" he asked again. 

"...WDG E-ONE ONE FOUR N," he spoke as if it were all one word. There was also a hint of resignation in his voice.

"Okay...how about I call you N for short? Does that sound good?"

N looked sour at the suggestion, but they were interrupted when the door opened up. Papyrus turned to see Sans and C enter, Sans was holding his hand and leading him into the room. As soon as he saw his brother he beamed, rushing past Papyrus and jumping on the bed. As soon as C was within reach, N pulled him by his arm into a sideways hug.

Sans looked at Papyrus with a confused expression before seeing what was behind his brother. His face lit up and he smiled at the small skeleton in the corner of the room.

"Hey, Papyrus, what's going on?"

Papyrus shrugged and turned back to the kids. C was looking up at him, or rather, the cinnamon bunny still in his hand. Last time he tried to feed it to N and he didn't eat it he gave it to C instead. He loved it. 

He had an idea.

Not caring about N's reaction, he sat on the corner furthest away from him. Not minding the glare, Papyrus looked down at the treat in his hands and ripped it in half. Sans curiously watched from his spot near the door. He handed one half to C who was eager to take it, but as soon as he grabbed it, N caught his wrist and gave him a nasty look.

"Don't..."

C frowned. "But it's good!"

"No."

"Go ahead C," N shrank back into himself against Papyrus' encouragement and released C's wrist. He started to bite into the half-cinnamon bunny while his brother watched with trepidation. Papyrus could see him start to shake and he brought his free hand up near his mouth, curling his fingers against his teeth.

C ate half of the large half-treat before stopping and looking at his brother. "See? Good! Here," he pushed the remains of the cinnamon bunny close to his him and he regarded it with wide eyes, pulling away from it, which proved difficult since they were tangled together in a semi-hug, but gave in and took it. N sniffed it and looked at it from every angle before checking back with his brother. He was smiling at him. N gave a large exhale before looking back down to the cinnabun and took a bite out of it with his sharp teeth.

Well that worked too. He wanted N to see his brother eat it, showing him that it was alright but he didn't expect them to share like that. He was going to give the other half to N if he expressed interest, but this was fine. He'd just give it to them after they were done. Frankly he was just relieved that N was eating at all. Progress. That was nice.

But Papyrus couldn't ignore the glare coming from N while he was eating. Though this time instead of leering at Papyrus, he was staring at Sans. He was normally good at reading facial expressions but this was difficult. N watched Sans intensely, hiding some emotion that Papyrus couldn't read. He was fine with receiving that look but now that it was directed at his brother it was making him uncomfortable and one quick look at Sans told him he was uncomfortable as well. When Sans caught Papyrus checking on him though, he shrugged it off.

Shattering the tension, Papyrus handed the other half of the cinnabun to C who took it fast and tore it in two, splitting it between them and wolfing it down. N ate slowly and seemed to force himself to keep a neutral expression, but Papyrus figured he was enjoying it too.

Sans, noticing the mess on the two children, spoke up. "Oh, I'll go get a washcloth. I'll be right back," and he paced out the room, leaving the door open a crack behind him.

He could hear his footsteps patter down the stairs but otherwise it felt completely silent. 

"Well, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

"Not bad! Good!" C started patting N's shoulder and smiled up to his eye sockets. His brother could help but smile back and hugged him closer. "N is feeling better! Can see?"

"Yeah... I'm better."

The door creaked back open and Sans entered, walking over to C and handed him the washcloth. N tried to pull C away from him but only backed into the corner. C took the washcloth anyway and started rubbing it over his hands and teeth, then handed it to N who took it warily before doing the same, copying what his brother did.

Well N said he was better but Papyrus didn't want to bother asking if he needed any painkillers. He was obviously stressed enough with Sans and his own presence so he left it at that. 

He told them that if they needed anything, they could come get them and Sans and Papyrus exited the room.

 

Both brothers descended the stairs and as soon as Papyrus reached the couch he flopped on it, slouching all the way and pulled his hood over his head. 

"What's wrong Pap?"

"This is gonna be difficult."

"Well...maybe. I remember you were difficult when we were like that too," Papyrus let out a groan of annoyance as Sans kept talking," You didn't trust anybody or anything, not that I blame you but still. It took you a long time to start trusting and opening up to others."

"I know but... I just have a bad feeling about this. You know how their universe is. If our Gaster was like _that_ , then who knows how bad theirs was?"

"I dunno, C seemed fine. I think you're overreacting a bit. Just give him some time and I think he'll be okay."

Sans was always really good at reassuring him.

"Yeah... you're right."

 

~

 

It had been another couple of days and Sans was getting worried. 

He was making breakfast for everyone, just some simple sandwiches this time. For a while instead of calling both kids out of the room to eat, he had delivered the food and let them stay in their room. He wanted to give them some space, but it's been days now. Even C stopped expressing any interest of leaving the room to take a bath or do anything with Sans like he used to. And what's worse is whenever Sans entered the room they both looked almost distressed, and when he asked C if anything was wrong he shrugged it off. N wouldn't respond to anything he had to say.

Even when Papyrus went in to see if they were okay and give them medicine, he would come out looking stressed.

Sure, they had space to themselves, but it didn't feel like progress. Nothing was happening. He didn't want them to feel uncomfortable, but sitting in that room all alone wasn't helping much.

He decided he was going to spend some time with them every day from now on, even if it was just a couple of minutes of quiet.

 

Carefully balancing the plate of sandwiches in one hand, he pried open the door slowly and stepped inside. As usual, the children were sitting on the bed together. C wasn't looking at him, but he could see N watching his every move.

"Hey, I've got some food for you guys," Sans kicked the door shut with the back of his foot and stood waiting for a response. He got none. Normally C was excited but these past few days he looked like the energy was sapped from him completely. "C, is something wrong?"

N moved so he was blocking Sans' view of C. "Leave him alone." 

The words chilled Sans to the bone. "I just wanted to see if you guys were doing okay-"

"We don't need your 'help', so go away!"

Sans stood frozen in place, unsure what to do. He was forced into action when he saw a row of several white bones appear and move at him fast. Without thinking, he dropped the plate and side-stepped out of the way, nearly losing his balance. When he looked up, another onslaught was already on the way. He couldn't dodge in time, instead crossing his arms in front of him to block the attack. It struck him with a loud crack and he was knocked back, hitting the wall hard and falling to the floor.

He thought his skull was ringing, but when he opened his eyes he saw the source of the horrible noise. A large animal-like skull had manifested and was charging energy fast, it was almost blinding to look at. Although Sans was disorientated, he rolled out of the way just barely. There was a loud crash as the magical beam collided with the wall, burning a hole right through it and it felt like the whole house shook on the impact.

He tried to do something, move out of the way, get up, run, anything, but he was shaking too much. He could feel the cold breeze that blew into the room from beside him, but that wasn't what was chilling him. He stole a glance upward at N's face, and he looked so...

Angry.

Before he could launch another attack, the door slammed open and Papyrus burst in, taking one sweeping look around the room with wide eye sockets, pausing on Sans for a fraction longer before turning to the bed. He took a step forward and N retaliated, assembling more bones in front of him and launching them at Papyrus. The tall skeleton appeared in an instant beside the attack as it kept moving forward and crashed into the wall with a loud thud, dissipating on contact.

N's anger warped into a sick confusion as he registered what just happened. He moved his hand and another Gaster Blaster manifested in the room. The skull charged magic with a high pitched whine, but before it could discharge, Papyrus rushed forward and grabbed both of N's forearms, interrupting the attack and making the skull disappear. He pushed down on him, holding his arms above him and forcing him to his knees on the bed. N pointed his head down and let out a pitiful scream which died down into broken sobs. C could be heard shouting his brother's name but it was ignored. 

Sans could see N struggle to pull away and clench his fists in Papyrus' grasp, but went still and quiet after a moment of being restrained. 

"Sans, are you okay??"

It was then he realized he was completely out of breath. "Y-yeah..." Picking himself up, he wrapped his arms around himself, looking down to inspect them at the same time. He could see some cracks where the bones had struck his arms and rubbed them soothingly, but he was still shaking and taking large breaths.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm fine, really." 

Papyrus let out a long sigh and nodded. He looked down at N and after a moment, the two of them were gone.

 

The room was silent now, and although the room was now cold due to the hole in the wall Sans could feel himself heating up. He felt the stress and adrenaline catching up to him, making him feel something like anger but he couldn't be angry. Not at N. It wasn't his fault, Sans reminded himself. After all that, he was too tired to be feeling truly angry anyway. He felt the stress ebb away as he took more deep breaths, but an urgent thought bubbled to the forefront of his mind.

What about C?

He looked up to the bed where C was hugging his legs and burying his face into his knees. Sans stood up and wobbily walked over to the bed before throwing himself on it, catching himself with his hands.

"C?" He lifted his head up and looked like he was on the verge of tears. "Are you okay?" C nodded and wiped away the forming tears at the bottom of his eye sockets with the collar of his shirt.

"Do you know why your brother attacked me?" He opened his mouth like he was going to say something but didn't. "Don't worry! He's not in trouble...it's just that we're trying to help him, but we can't do that if he's... attacking us."

"N said he...hurt someone."

He didn't know how to reply to that, so he just said nothing.

"Is Sans hurting?"

"Well, it hurts a little but I'm okay," he looked over the cracks in his arms again and went to rub his hand over them, but this time instead of being soothing, it stung. He winced and hissed low at the touch.

"N said... you were gonna take me away."

Oh.

Sans did always used to take him away so he could eat at the table, and so he could take a bath. Lately he'd been leaving them in their room and whenever he came to check on them, N probably thought he was going to take C away. 

"Well we're not going to take you away from each other. You'll always be near N, even if you can't see him, and if you want to see him you can."

"Don't hurt him," he sniffled and covered his eyes with his hands again. The sight was breaking Sans' heart. He pushed himself up and reached out to pull C into a hug. C wrapped his arms around Sans' neck, burying his skull into Sans' shoulder. He could feel wet tears through the fabric of his shirt.

"Papyrus isn't going to hurt him, I promise."

 

~

 

The two of them blipped into existence in the middle of the living room in the same position they had been in moments before. As soon as Papyrus' grip let up, N pulled both of his arms away and fell to the floor on all fours. He could see him shivering, and the normally quiet living room was permeated with the sound of rattling. 

Suddenly, N twisted around and more bones materialized in front of him. They shot forward at Papyrus, but once again Papyrus teleported out of the way, this time appearing behind N, near the staircase. He could see N shoot up in confusion before he looked around him. He scrambled to his knees and turned fully, glancing upward at the taller skeleton with complete fear in his eyes.

"How...?"

"You can teleport too, right?" N said nothing but continued to stare at him fearfully. "Well, you can't beat me, so save your strength." 

In the back of Papyrus' mind he felt like that was the wrong thing to say. N's face turned grim and Papyrus caught the defeated look he wore before he turned away and shrank lower towards the ground. Papyrus let out a low sigh and rubbed his hand down over his face. Maybe he wasn't the greatest at dealing with kids, like Sans said.

He was at a complete loss of what to do. How was he supposed to help someone who was attacking them, or worse, trying to kill them?

Papyrus looked down at the sad form on the floor and sighed again. He took a step closer and bent down over him, wrapping his arm around the child's humerus and lifting him up. N grabbed Papyrus' hand with his own and pushed against it lightly, but otherwise let himself get pulled.

He brought him over to the couch and set him on it lightly. When he let go, N receded into the corner of the couch, pulling his legs close and wrapping his arms around himself. Papyrus reached for the folded blanket over the armrest and fanned it out before and threw it on N softly, then sat down on the farthest side of the couch away from him.

It was nearly 5 minutes of silence and Papyrus fidgeting before he spoke Papyrus rubbing his scarred hand absent-mindedly.

"N, I know it's really hard for you right now, but you have to believe us that we are trying to help you. Look around, you aren't in the Labs anymore. There's more to life than just that room up there, and no one is going to hurt you and your brother here. Sans just wants to help you too," He could see N pushing the blankets into his face and his body wracked with quiet sobs.

"Whatever the Doctor did to you, it will never, ever happen here."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be more from the kid's perspective soon, just needed to get through some more stuff.


End file.
